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How Does Your Teaching Feel? Do you have sesquipedalia? Those who teach should be on the alert for this terrible scourge, which can diminish one’s ability to communicate effectively and maintain an audience’s interest. The warning signs may include using jargon excessively, speaking in the least concise and most convoluted …

1- Ask open-ended questions. Asking open-ended questions encourages visitors by allowing them to examine and respond to objects and specimens at whatever level of knowledge and awareness they may have. These questions demonstrate what visitors are capable of learning, even with little prior information. 2- Be aware of your audience’s …

1- Ask closed-ended questions. Asking visitors questions that have pre-determined answers is a form of testing and can discourage participation by making visitors aware of what they do not know. It also can inhibit additional exploration, as it reinforces the erroneous notion that there is a correct way to view, …

Hearing Challenges According to Consumer Reports On Health, a publication of Consumers Union, almost every older person experiences some hearing loss. “Much of it is caused by a lifetime of exposure to loud noise. When communicating with an older person is difficult, the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association suggests reducing background …

Museums in the Caribbean Planning an island getaway? Well, you don’t have to leave your museum orientation and interests at home. The islands ot the Caribbean are rich in cultural, historic, and scientific institutions that can further your understanding of, and appreciation for, these exotic locations. Dominican Republic The Museo …

Like all teaching strategies and their implementation, object-based activities should be frequently reveiwed and evaluated. Here is a checklist that can be adapted for self-evaluation, peer evaluation, or formal evaluation when using object-based activities for teaching. Which type of object-based activity was employed? What was the overall theme of the …

“Ahoy,” Bay Area Visitors and Residents Surrounded by water on three sides, San Francisco has been a major seaport since its inception. While steamships gave way to container ships and yachts, the city retains an important waterfront, and the San Francisco Maritime Museum honors this history. Crafted in the shape …

The 2001 National Docent Symposium was held in San Antonio, Texas, in early October 2001. Despite the tragic and unnerving events that transpired on September 11, 2001, nearly all the docents who registered for the symposium chose to attend, and the event was a resounding success! Jackie Littleton, associate editor …

New Designs on Audiences Across the United States, and in other countries as well, museums have gone on a building spree. In the U.S., more than 25 major art institutions, and many smaller ones, are constructing new facilities. When most of the current projects are completed, more than $3 billion …

The National Docent Symposium The volunteer docents of the Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, are hosting the National Docent Symposium on October 6 -10, 2001. The theme of the Symposium is River Odyssey . . . An Extended Journey. In addition to the McNay, other institutions …

An Important Lesson The October 6, 2000, edition of The Wall Street Journal chronicles how a museum, with all the resources any institution might wish for, has steadily lost its audience. “How the Getty Lost Its Buzz” describes the J. Paul Getty Art Museum as “scholarly and removed” and as …

1 Assess the group through casual conversation prior to touring. Get a sense of what they hope to see and why they are taking your tour. 2 Don’t memorize a talk. Know the subject matter and speak about it. 3 Allow your own personality to show. It will make you …

As a follow-up to docent training and on-the-job experience, many docents and staff have asked if The Docent Educator could provide a bibliography for further reading about teaching— its aims, processes, and procedures. Therefore, we have assembled the following, highly idiosyncratic, annotated bibliography for your convenience and use. As you …

An Experiential Exhibition offering Follow-Up The Los Angeles Country Museum of Art (LACMA) is presenting an exhibition of 11 original installations by California artists designed specifically to engage children and their families. Made in California: NOW is the inaugural exhibition of LACMALab, a new experimental research and development unit within …

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation house museums have developed school programming designed to spark young children’s interest in history. At Hay House, for instance, youngsters learn about the basic house structure from familiar fairy tales and games. Older children are involved in an elaborate program that illustrates family life …

Foods for Thought In addition to offering basic and advanced courses for adults in gardening, landscape design, floral design, botanical illustration, and plant studies, The New York Botanical Garden has a wide selection of food-related classes. The following have been among their offerings: Wild Foods of Spring examines forests, wetlands, …

Volunteering and the I.R.S. There are two very good reasons that docents and other volunteers working in the United States should keep careful records of the hours they contribute to a not-for-profit institution. For the benefit of the institution, of course, such records are useful in proving in-kind donations when …

Use Technology to Improve Your Teaching Techniques Teaching is a skill that requires constant honing to remain sharp and fresh. Why not take advantage of technology to assist? provide tours and presentations to their peers. Video taping allows docents to review their own performance and to accomplish a self-examination of …

“If you build it, they will come” may work with baseball diamonds in the middle of Iowa cornfields, but it takes more than great programs to get schools into your institution. A good marketing strategy, including well-designed publications, may be the key to connecting your outstanding program with the area …

We’re An Important Destination According to the Travel Industry Association of America, twenty-seven percent of U.S. adults (53.6 million adults) took at least one trip in the previous year that included a visit to a historic place or museum that was more than 50 miles from their homes. June, July …

Creative Funding When you register as a guest at a Doubletree Hotel or Guest Suites in Minneapolis, you receive a slim, one-page flyer with your room key. The flyer states that “Doubletree Hotels and Guest Suites of Minneapolis is pleased to introduce you, our valued Guest, to ‘Stepping Out with …

Two New Museums on our Horizon The cultural landscape of the United States has been enriched by the recent addition of two new museums. Museum of African American History – Detroit, Michigan This is the world’s largest cultural institution devoted to Black heritage in America. Through a combination of videos, …

Tips for Teaching Limited English Speakers The Decent Council of the Oakland Museum, in Oakland, California, produced a highly instructive text to assist docents who tour visitors with limited knowledge of the English language. Their manual, entitled Expanding Horizons: Art Museum Tour Techniques for Beginning and Intermediate English Speakers, offers …

Give Me Memphis, Tennessee Going to Memphis, Tennessee? Be sure to check out their many and varied museums, in addition to eating great barbeque and listening to the blues. Among the cultural attractions you might wish to visit are: Center for Southern Folklore 209 Beale Street. Documents the lives and …

The idea of peer review began after the chair of our education council attended the National Docent Symposium in 1995 and realized that the evaluation of volunteers is happening in many museums. After digging through files from past years, v^^e found that about 10 years ago a task force of …

Evaluating Intelligence Many educational researchers and authorities are seeking to reevaluate what it means to be smart. They are warning that childhood reading and IQ tests measure only a small aspect of the intellect and don’t predict success in later life. Among the apostles of this new approach are Robert …

Counter-evolutionary In a 1983, Nova, the popular science series shown on the Public Broadcasting Service, aired a documentary called The Miracle of Life. The Emmy Award-winning film begins with a brief explanation of the origin of life on Earth. The narrator states, “Four and a half billion years ago, the …

Notable Quotables “A crank is a man with a new idea — until it catches on. ” – Mark Twain “Imagination is more important than knowledge. ” -Albert Einstein “Toward no crimes have men shown themselves so cold-bloodedly cruel as in punishing differences in beliefs. ” -James Russell Lowell “Chance …

Museums Create a Sense of Place in Phoenix The city of Phoenix, Arizona, is using museums to help create a “downtown” in this sprawling city of 2.4 million residents. Over the last five years, the community has built a swath of entertainment and cultural facilities at its core, including a …

Barcelona’s Museum of Contemporary Art A new $35 million Contemporary Art Museum opened this past autumn in Barcelona, Spain. The museum, designed by American architect Richard Meier, has received great praise for its beauty and collection. Complementing Barcelona’s fine Picasso Museum and a hilltop foundation containing a collection of Miro’s …

Picking Up the Slack According to a survey conducted by the Business Committee for the Arts, business support for arts organizations in the United States reached an estimated $875 million in 1994. That figure represents a significant jump from the $518 million figure of the previous survey, which reflected business …

The Favorite Books of Several Well-Known Educators The intent of this issue of The Docent Educator is to examine the field of education and to reflect upon its relevance to teaching within museums, historic sites, zoos, parks, and gardens. A recent survey reported in Teacher Magazine lists the all-time favorite …

America Preserved The Library of Congress is offering an all-new, comprehensive checklist of the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record collections. This illustrated publication is hardbound and available for $74 (including UPS shipping). To get further information, or to order, call (800) 255-3666, or TDD (202) …

Expect More Museum-School Partnerships The 1994 U.S. Congress made $100 million available for school and community partnerships, as part of its Goals 2000 legislation. Created to improve the quality of education as we move into the 21st century, the legislation encourages schools to take advantage of community resources and connect …

Beware the Jabberwocky! Did you happen to read the article appearing on the front page of The Week in Review section, in the Sunday, October 23, 1994, edition of the New York Times? The article, which was. entitled “The Jabberwocky of Art Criticism,” serves as a warning to art educators …

References about the Full Spectrum of American History While the English immigrants and their descendants require and deserve attention, for they possessed inordinate power to define American culture and make public policy, learning about a range of other cultures can fill out understandings and help to explain general patterns and …

The Docent as Teacher Autumn 1991, Vol. 1, No. 1 (download pdf of entire issue) Subjectivity and Inquiry Teaching, Alan Gartenhaus Teachers have Great Expectations, Jackie Littleton Questioning Strategies: For Adults Only, Barbara Henry Blind People Can See Your Collections With a Little Help From You, Janice Majewski For Your Consideration It Works for Me: …

To use this online archive, search the issues using the search bar on the top right side of the screen under The Docent Educator Menu, or browse the index of issues using the link below the search bar. About The Docent Educator Online Archive Between 1991 and 2003 museum educator …

Museum-Ed used a Kickstarter Campaign to create a searchable archive of The Docent Educator. This archive would not be possible without all of the generous support by the people below. Full Series Support: J. Marshall Adams Marianna Adams Christina Alderman Anonymous Autry National Center Education Department Birmingham Museum of Art Mary Ann …

Survival Skills for Student Discipline Though successful strategies for control of student discipline problems (and for maintaining order) will differ from one situation or student to the next, the following are some suggestions for influencing students toward appropriate behaviors. Communicate institutional rules for behavior, such as “objects should not be …

A New Resource for Volunteer Program Administration The American Council for the Arts in association with the American Association for Museum Volunteers has produced a comprehensive text on administering volunteer programs that should of assistance to anyone organizing or supervising volunteers. Volunteer Program Administration: A Handbook for Museums and Other …

The Docent Educator sent surveys concerning docent programming to a variety of institutions and individual docents throughout the United States. The results are presented to edify, as well as to stimulate discussion about docent programming, needs, and service. We invite our readers to send us their observations, comments, concerns, and …

Teaching Tips In their brochure Sharing Science with Children: A Survival Guide for Scientists and Engineers, the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C., offers the following noteworthy tips for those who teach youngsters. Make eye contact with the students because they love the personal contact. Smile …

This handout was submitted by Maris A. Grannell, a docent-field leader at the Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation. The teaching device was created by Judy Hensleigh, teacher of a combined 3 and 4 grade at Glenfeliz School in Los Angeles. What a wonderful way to encourage careful, multi-sensory observation and creativity …

In its series ‘‘Sharing Science with Children: A Survival Guide for Scientists and Engineers, ” the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science offers the following as potential themes for teaching elementary aged students: Kindergarten First & Second Third & Fourth Fifth & Sixth Animals Many kindsHave different coverings …

Interdisciplinary Approach to Contemporary Art For 16 years the Whitney Museum of American Art has put together an annual symposium where graduate students present papers on art history before a public audience. This year the symposium had a new twist — none of the students were in art history programs. …

A Resource to Help Enfranchise People with Disabilities The N.E.A. guide to making arts programming accessible to people with disabilities is available through the Government Printing Office. The 1992 revised edition of The Arts and 504 is available from the Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. 20402 for …

Answering Tough Questions in Science George F. Smoot III, an astrophysicist at the University of California’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, recently made one of this century’s most important scientific discoveries. He and his research team uncovered the first evidence of the formation of primordial structures from the universe’s creation. Essentially, Smoot …

Being thorough works for me. I find that the better acquainted I am with a school, the teachers, and the students, the better my teaching and their experiences will be. At the Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation, docents (which we call field leaders) take turns being “Leader of the Day” for …

Priorities for Docent Training Representatives from the Bellevue Art Museum, in Bellevue. WA, asked the editors of The Docent Educator to address the following question, “What should be taught in a comprehensive docent training program in order to serve a wide range of audiences?” Our response, in order of priority, …

The following terms are defined as they relate to teaching with inquiry. Remembering the terminology is not as important as understanding the concepts they represent. Active Thinking Thinking that requires personal involvement to accomplish a mental task. Convergent Thinking The process of narrowing one’s thoughts to a single, best, or …

Science and Inquiry For many of us, science is the domain of facts and figures – a convergent discipline that seeks correct answers and exact measurements. Science, after all, explains things. While the results of scientific research do aim toward convergent conclusions, the process is particularly reliant upon divergent thinking. …

Increasing Diversity Docents providing guided experiences for school groups will meet with greater numbers of minority students in the future. According to The New York Times (September 13, 1991, A 8), . . the increasing racial and ethnic diversity of the United States is being reflected by dramatic increases in …

Thinking Strategies In their text “Teaching for Thinking: Theory, Strategies and Activities for the Classroom” (Teachers College, Columbia University Press, 1986), authors Raths, Wasserman, Jonas, and Rothstein warn that “we are graduating large numbers of students who are expert at memorizing and recalling factual information, but who lack the ability to …